This was our last island and unfortunately we only had a few hours to explore. Again we were welcomed with leis on the dock. We walked to the town center. There we were treated to Polynesian culture at the town center by school children and greeted by the Mayor.
We had a bus tour of the island.
We had music on the bus tour.
They took us to a beach where in the 1960’s the French scientists and technicians lived. The buildings are long gone, only the coarse coral beach is left.
Next was the beach.
The bus took off and left me stranded, so I started walking back to the dock, a hot, long 2 km away. I took some shots of typical scenes on the island.
Many beautiful scenes among the rampant poverty. There are no stores on this island. Most adults were away because the monthly supply ship was in and they went aboard to shop. At one time the economy revolved around black pearls. A hurricane or cyclone as they are known there wiped it out. It has never recovered. You can see signs of neglect amongst the beauty. The church has suffered as well.
The interior is in ruins and entry is blocked. They told us it is ready to collapse.
Residents depend on selling crafts when they can. We tried to support the local economy.
We spotted an interesting rock in the lagoon on the way back to the boat.
